What is the controversy with the El Camino Real bells?

Many Indigenous people see California mission bells as a reminder of painful history Some Native Americans wants the bells that mark El Camino Real in California removed. They say the highway markers symbolize the painful history of the missions. Others say removal erases history.



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So what's up with those bell markers on the 101? According to the California Department of Transportation, the Mission Bell Marker system has existed on the historic El Camino Real route since 1906. The original marker system called for installation of bells one mile apart along the entire length of the El Camino Real.

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The mission bells set the rhythm of life for all who lived at the missions. All through the day the mission bells rang, announcing that it was time to go to church, time for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, time to work, or time to rest.

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Their history goes back to 1906, when Forbes designed the first of the El Camino Real Bells.

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The main physical challenges are the multiple days walking; even fit people will hit the 'wall' at some stage. The hardest day of the Camino is on the first day of the French Way, where you have to cross the great mountain range of the Pyrenees over the Napoleon Pass.

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The Camino Real de los Tejas is a historic route that stretches from the Texas-Mexico border to Natchitoches, La. It's called the Camino Real, which translates to royal road, because the roads were once part of Spain's empire in the Americas.

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The El Camino Real has many names, most common are “The Royal Road” and “The King's Highway.” The El Camino Real is widely known today as a 600-mile (965-kilometer) road which is spans from the area in San Diego near the Mission San Diego del Alcalá to the Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma.

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It travels for over 1,500 miles (2,400 km), primarily along the Pacific Ocean, and is also known by various names, including El Camino Real (The Royal Road) in parts of California, the Oregon Coast Highway, and the Olympic Highway in Washington.

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Camino is a Spanish word, meaning “path,” “trail,” or, more generally “way.”

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Over the centuries, bell ringing has served as a means of expression and communication in Spain, fulfilling a number of social functions, from information-sharing, to coordination, protection and cohesion.

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It may be that the unusual bells at Mission San Buenaventura were made for those days. These two bells are carved from two-foot blocks of redwood, the only wooden bells known at the California missions.

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